Conveyor belt cleaner

Abstract

The conveyor belt cleaner serves as a mechanical cleaner for an endless conveyor belt entrained about a pair of pulleys and includes a vertically movable support adapted to be mounted on the frame of the conveyor transversely of the belt, with the support carrying a plurality of independently operable wiper blade assemblies for removing from the conveyor belt abrasive and other objectionable materials. A pair of manually operable jack screws are interposed between the conveyor frame and the support and which are effective upon rotation thereof to vertically move the support and wiper blade assemblies relative to the conveyor belt thus pressurizing the wiper blades of the assemblies against the belt. Each wiper blade assembly is independently mounted on the support by a mounting means including a spring interposed between the support and the corresponding wiper blade assembly for biasing the blade towards the belt. Adjustment means are provided for varying the biasing force or the effectiveness of the spring to insure proper pressure contact between the blade and the belt. If required, each wiper blade assembly may be adjusted independently of the others through the adjustment means associated with the spring of each wiper blade assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A conveyor belt cleaner for a conveyor including a frame, a rotatable drum carried by the frame and an endless belt trained about the drum and providing delivery and return runs, said cleaner including a vertically movable support adapted to be mounted transversely of the belt to be cleaned, a wiper blade engageable with said belt, means for mounting said wiper blade on said support, and jack screw means adapted to be interposed between the frame and said support and effective upon operation thereof to move said support and wiper blade relative to the belt, and wherein said support includes a pair of spaced apart, generally horizontal upper and lower flanges connected by a vertically extending web, an opening in the upper flange, a tubular collar disposed about the opening in said upper flange, said collar being secured to said upper flange and extending from the upper side thereof, a threaded shaft extending through said collar and said flanges, abuttment means secured to said shaft adjacent the lower side of said upper flange, a spring interposed between said abuttment means and said lower flange for biasing said blade towards the belt, a wiper blade support secured to the upper end portion of said shaft, means securing said wiper blade to said wiper blade support, and adjustment means carried by said threaded shaft for varying the biasing force of said spring. 
     
     
       2. The conveyor belt cleaner defined in claim 1 wherein said spring is in the form of a compression spring. 
     
     
       3. The conveyor belt cleaner defined in claim 1 wherein a dirt shield is carried by said threaded shaft. 
     
     
       4. The conveyor belt cleaner defined in claim 1 wherein in a first expandable bellows surrounds a portion of said threaded shaft between said wiper blade support and said collar and a second expandable bellows surrounds another portion of said shaft and said spring between said collar and the lower flange of said support, said bellows protecting said shaft and spring from dirt. 
     
     
       5. The conveyor belt cleaner defined in claim 1 wherein said adjustment means is in the form of nuts threaded on said shaft. 
     
     
       6. A conveyor belt cleaner for a conveyor including a frame, a rotatable drum carried by said frame and an endless belt trained about the drum and providing a delivery and return runs, said cleaner including a nonrotatable support adapted to be mounted transversely of the belt to be cleaned, said support being adapted to move only in a vertical plane substantially normal to the plane of said belt, a pair of individually-operable jack screw means carried on opposite sides of said frame, said jack screw means being coupled to opposite ends of said support for selectively raising and lowering said support in said vertical plane toward and away from said belt, a plurality of individually-operable wiper blade assemblies each having a wiper blade engageable with a surface of said belt, means for mounting said plurality of individually-operable wiper blade assemblies on said support so as to minimize the amount of horizontal space adjacent said belt occupied by said cleaner, said mounting means including a compression spring assembly associated with each of said wiper blade assemblies for urging the individual wiper blade associated therewith toward the surface of said belt to be cleaned, each of said compression spring assemblies includes a compression spring interposed between said support and an individual wiper blade assembly for urging said wiper blade toward the surface of said belt to be cleaned, said compression spring assembly further includes means for individually adjusting the force with which said wiper blade is urged toward the surface of said belt to be cleaned independently of said jack screw means. 
     
     
       7. A conveyor belt cleaner for a conveyor including a frame, a rotatable drum carried by said frame and an endless belt trained about the drum and providing a delivery and return runs, said cleaner including a non-rotatable support adapted to be mounted transversely of the belt to be cleaned, said support being adapted to move only in a vertical plane substantially normal to the plane of said belt, a pair of individually-operable jack screw means carried on opposite sides of said frame, said jack screw means being coupled to opposite ends of said support for selectively raising and lowering said support in said vertical plane toward and away from said belt, a plurality of individually-operable wiper blade assemblies each having a wiper blade engageable with a surface of said belt, means for mounting said plurality of individually-operable wiper blade assemblies on said support so as to minimize the amount of horizontal space adjacent said belt occupied by said cleaner, said mounting means including a compression spring assembly associated with each of said wiper blade assemblies for urging the individual wiper blade associated therewith toward the surface of said belt to be cleaned, said support includes a pair of spaced apart, generally horizontal upper and lower flanges connected by vertically extending web, said upper and lower flanges being provided with opposed, vertically aligned apertures, the number of opposed, vertically aligned apertures corresponding in number to the number of said plurality of individually-operable wiper blade assemblies mounted on said support, said mounting means further including an elongated rod extending through each of said pairs of opposed, vertically aligned apertures, and an abutment member secured to each of said elongated rods at a location intermediate the ends thereof and between said upper and lower flanges, and wherein said compression spring assembly includes a compression spring disposed about said intermediate portion of said elongated rod and interposed between said abutment member and said lower flange for urging said elongated rod towards said conveyor belt, said mounting means further including a plurality of wiper blade supports, one of said supports being secured to an upper end portion of each of said elongated rods, means for securing one of said plurality of wiper blades to each of said wiper blade supports, and adjustment means carried by the lower end portion of said elongated shaft for selectively varying the biasing force of said compression spring. 
     
     
       8. The conveyor belt cleaner of claim 7 wherein said elongated rod is a threaded shaft; wherein said abuttment means includes a first nut threadedly secured to said threaded shaft adjacent a portion of said shaft extending through the aperture in said upper flange; and wherein said adjustment means includes a second threaded nut threadedly secured to the end portion of said threaded shaft which extends through the aperture in said lower flange such that the act of threading said second nut onto and off of said threaded shaft increases and decreases the biasing force of said compression spring.